I'm looking to get a matched pair of c451b's and was wondering how they are recording live shows? I can get a matched pair for $800.. This seems like a fair price to me after doin a little research...Any help highly appreciated!! TomRig would be: c451b > mp-2 > Roland r-05 or Tascam dr-40

« Last Edit: February 04, 2017, 12:36:37 AM by tapertom »

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They weren't theey did, They were the only ones that did what they did.... The Grateful Dead

personally I don't always like the AKG sound, Yes I have lots and heard lots of recordings made with various models, some I love, some not so much.

I tend to like some other flavors of sound from different microphone manufactures. Though I do prefer the slight high end frequency boost, I feel it make mics reproduce what you hear at a show by making the high end sizzle.I apologize if my ramblings offer no advice../. I am sure you get many opinions and many will disagree...have fun.--Ian

The 451s are quite bright for general taping. You would do better with a used pair of c460s or c480s. You might also consider the at4021s, which are great mics for the money.

Interesting.. I have not really listened to the 451, but the 460 and 480, to me sound flat and dull compared with other manufacture's mics, I think I would prefer the slight high need presence bump, but without a comparison you could be very well right. I think I'd prefer the KM184 or 140s http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/Neumann/KM-184 though they are a bit more costly.

Agreed! Depending on the preamp, the AKG's can be VERY bright IMO! That said, if I were to buy/own some 451's, the PERFECT warm preamp to pair them with would be the transformer sound of the SD MP2

I started taping with a HQ rig back in 1999, and with AKG 481's->DMIC-20. I think the 460's/480's are great mics, especially with their ability to switch capsules! That's why I picked the 480's over the KM184/185 in 1999!

Just depends on which sound YOU prefer! These days, I wish I would've just bought the Schoeps to begin with back in '99 So I would advise you to save up and buy the mics you REALLY WANT from the beginning, if you really like taping

The c451b is a newer reissue of the classic c451e/eb or 452 that utilized the ck1 cardioid caps (and others since the cap was interchangeable).

IIRC, the c451e/ck1 was Mike Millard's microphone of choice, and what he used to make most of the recordings that cemented his reputation. Although not quite as bright as the newer versions, their bit of high-end sizzle was advantageous back in the days of analog tape since the upper end of the frequency range on the cassette tape format isn't quite as extended as digital formats. As the analog tape degraded from playback, making copies, etc, the high frequencies were also the first to be compromised, and that upper frequency sparkle helped over the long-term life of those recordings.

Other than the Millard recordings I've heard, I don't have other experience with the classic 451e but have heard enough of them and the modern 451b to say that they don't sound like the same microphone to my ears. The 451b are considerably brighter, IMHO, and would definitely benefit from a warm preamp. The suggestions in this thread of the AKG 480/460 are also good ones.